Wire brush for use in oil wells



Dec. 17, R E EDWARDS WIRE BRUSH FOR USE IN OIL WELLS Filed Feb. 19, 1945 Patented Dec. 17, 1946 WIRE BRUSH FOR USE IN OIL WELLS Roy E. Edwards, Duncan, kla., assignor to Halliburton Oil Well Cementing Company, Duncan,

Okla.

Application February 19, 1945, Serial No. 578,712

2 Claims. (Cl. 166-18) This invention relates to wire brushes, and more particularly to steel brushes adapted to be mounted on steel pipe or casing and lowered into a well bore such as an oil well to clean the wall of the bore and to center the pipe therein.

In the drilling of wells with the rotary method a mud is generally used which has the property of caking or plastering upon the wall of the bore hole. After the well is drilled casing is lowered into the well bore and is usually cemented in place. The success of the cementing operations in bonding the casing to the rock surrounding the bore hole depends to some extent upon the proper removal of the mud so that the Portland cement or other bonding material can come in direct contact with the rock. The success of the cementing operation also depends to some extent upon whether the casing is centered in the well bore and upon whether the cement as it leaves the bottom of the pipe channels through the mud along only a portion of the periphery of the pipe, or Whether it flows evenly on all sides of the pipe.

It has heretofore been proposed to employ wire brushes on casing in oil wells to scrape the wall of the bore hole or to center the casing therein, In general, the brushes heretofore proposed for this purpose have employed wire bristles or spring steel leaves which have been disposed spirally or circumferentially upon collars attached to the casing at spaced intervals, and which perform their function of removing the mud sheath as the casing is lowered into the well. Such devices have been used to some extent and perform a desirable function. There is some danger involved in their use, however, inasmuch as cuttings or other material suspended in the mud in the well bore are apt to clog or form what is known as a bridge around the brushes and prevent the flow of cement upwardly along the casing, even when high pressure is exerted thereon so that the cementing operations result in failure to properly cement the casing.

It is an object of the present invention to provide wire brushes adapted to be secured to the outside of casing lowered into an oil well in which the bristles of the brushes are disposed longitudinally of the casing and in which each bristle is spring mounted in such a way that it may perform the desired function of removing mud sheath from the wall of the bore hole even after being lowered thousands of feet to the bottom of the well.

It is a further object of the invention to devise a wire brush which can be cut into suitable lengths and readily secured to casing in the field 2 with the bristles all running longitudinally of the casing, but with portions of the brush arranged in staggered relation upon the casing.

Other objects and advantages reside in certain novel features of the construction and arrangement as will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which: I

Figure 1 is a side view of a section of easing showing wire brushes constructed in accordance with the present invention secured in stag ered relation thereon;

Figure 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of the casing of Figure 1 showing the construction and mounting of the brushes; I

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the arrangement of Figure 1 taken on the line 3-3 thereof; I

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the spring arrangement used in mounting the bristles of the brushes of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawing in detail, it will be seen that a section of pipe adapted to be used as casing in an oil well as illustrated at I0. Mounted upon the casing in staggered relation and partially overlapping are a number of sections of channel irons II which have flanges I2 adapted to be welded or otherwise secured to the casing. In mounting the channel irons upon the casing tapered end pieces I3 are preferably provided and welded to the casing and to the channel irons to offer some insurance against the channel irons being stripped from the casing as it is lowered into the Well. The channel irons II may be made of sheet metal, for example, of 10- gauge to I l-gauge, and constitute the body of the brushes upon which the bristles are secured.

As shown in Figure 1, the channel irons II are provided with a number of holes or apertures I4 disposed linearly along the longitudinal dimensions thereof, through which the bristles I5 extend. Within the concave portion of the channel irons II, a spring mounting for each bristle is provided together with means for securing the bristles to the channel irons.

As best shown in Figure 4, two adjacent bristles together with their spring mounting and securing means are formed from a single piece of wire by bending it into a securing loop I6 and into four coil springs designated II, I8, I 9 and 2B, coils I1 and 20 having their axes parallel to the plane of the bristles I5 while coils I8 and I9 have their axes in a plane at right angles to the plane of the bristles I5. Thus, when the bristles and their spring mounting are secured within the channel I I as by means of a rivet 2| through the loop l6, each bristle I5 is spring mounted for transverse movement into a position tangential to the casing I0 upon the distortion of the coil spring to which it is adjacent, and for movement lengthwise of the casing upon distortion of the coil springs adjacent the loop l6 s s s The size'ofthe wire used in formingthe bristles and spring mounting therefor shown in Figure 4 may vary under different conditions, but 12: gauge spring steel wire has been found suitable anditsuseisrecommended. With brushes constructed a illustrated and fl n d upon a casing as shownm" Figured, the casing may be lowered into the well without the brushes becoming excessively bent and damaged. As the casing is loweredinto the wellthe V coil springs l8 and I9 are distorted so that the bristles may lay nearly flat upon the exterior of the channel irons H. When the casing has been lowered to the desired depth it may be rotated; 'Astit is turned, the springs l1 and 20 cause bristles to be deflected outwardly and remove the mu'dsheathfrom the wall of the bore hole. In theievent that the casing is laying against the wallfof the bore hole on any one side as is usually the case, or in the event that the Wall of the bore hole is irregular so that the bristles encounter obstructions tending to distort them as *tlie'c'asing is' rotated, the springs I1 and 20 are the longitudinal spacing of the brushes along the casing. However, in order to insure the maintenance ofsufiicient space to allow the mud and Tthe cement which is used to secure the casing in place adequate clearance between the brushes,

the "best "practice requires that the brushes not bermounted too closely together either longitudinally or radially. In view of the'fact that 4 all of the bristles on any one brush are in line longitudinally of the casing, there is little danger that the brush will become clogged and prevent the casing from being properly cemented in the well.

While only one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described herein, it is obvious that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the annexed claims.

I claim:

wire brush for well casing consisting of "a pieceof channel iron having 'a number of apertures disposed linearly along the longitudinal dimension thereof, Wire bristles extending from the concave portion of said channel iron to the exterior thereof through said apertures and means. for yieldingly mounting said bristles in said channel iron, said means including two coil springs for each bristle, said coil springs having their-axes disposed in planes at right angles to each other whereby each bristle is spring mounted for movement longitudinally of said channel iron as "well as for movement transexterior thereof through said apertures and means for yieldingly mounting said bristles in said channel iron, said means including two coil springs for eachbristle, said coil springs hav ing'their 'axes disposed in planes at right angles to'ea'ch other whereby each bristle is spring mounted for movement longitudinally'of said channel iron as well as for movement transversely thereof upon distortion of said coil springs.

' ROY E EDwARDs 

